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What a wonderful article for the Chrismas season. Helping people is so overrated. May we all strive to live in a world like the 1920's; when a 12 year old child

What a wonderful article for the Chrismas season. Helping people is so overrated. May we all strive to live in a world like the 1920's; when a 12 year old child could work in a coal mine for 16 hours a day and receive 1-2 dollars, when minimum wage laws were non-existent; and the income disparity between the top and the bottom was at it's highest point in all of US history. What a wonderful time to have lived, and this article is exactly the type of attitude we need to cultivate in todays society. I hope you detect the sarcasm.

eshvk 14y ago
Did you read the entire article? He is not talking about becoming uncharitable. In fact at the end, he does suggest that he didn't become some sort of 1920's Scrooge but decided to instead re-prioritize his life to focus first on his family, work and next on other people. I am unsure of how this is an unreasonable thing to do. Also, I fail to see how the wider societal issues of that age are correlated with his viewpoints. This is just like a hobo saying "rgbrenner didn't give me $5 last time I asked him, this is why gay people cannot get married".
nollidge 14y ago
I hope you detect the false dichotomy in your response.
Simucal 14y ago
Maybe you should read more than the title of an article before commenting on it. Everything you just said has nothing to do with the point or conclusion of the story. Helping people at the expense of your wife, children and your employer is what the protagonist was discussing. He ultimately gave more in charity after his realization, except that he now controlled that charity, it didn't control him.
theorique 14y ago
This wasn't really the point of the article. The writer was talking about saying no to being used and exploited by people who felt entitled to his time and effort and did not respect or appreciate that effort.
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
newbie12 14y ago
The 1920s was a period of extraordinary economic and technological progress. Economic progress, not passing laws or stewing with envy over income distributions, is what has made society wealthy and advanced enough to end child labor.
- rgbrenner 14y ago
  Sorry, but no. Child labor was ended in the aftermath of the great depression. The efforts in the decade prior to that failed, including one case where the supreme court said child labor laws are an infringement on the rights of children. The 1938 fair labor standards act was the first at the federal level. http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/08/16/158925367/child-labor-in-america-1920 http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/08/16/158925367/child-la...
forgottenpaswrd 14y ago
Probably you prefer to life in a world where the US of America creates wars so they could take the oil and gas of some countries, and millions of people die because of that. A better world when minimum wage laws exist in your country but people buy Walmart items manufactured in a country where those rules not apply, so you could actually feel better. The maximum disparity between top and bottom was not in the 1920, it is now, with CEOs getting 50x the minimum pay of their workers and growing, and central banks printing money ad infinitum. I agree with you helping people that actually could help theirselves, is overrated.
- rgbrenner 14y ago
  > The maximum disparity between top and bottom was not in the 1920, it is now That is not correct. At the peak, in 2008 right before the depression, it was slightly below the peak in 1928/9 [0]. 0. http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3629 http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3629

eshvk 14y ago

Did you read the entire article? He is not talking about becoming uncharitable. In fact at the end, he does suggest that he didn't become some sort of 1920's Scrooge but decided to instead re-prioritize his life to focus first on his family, work and next on other people. I am unsure of how this is an unreasonable thing to do. Also, I fail to see how the wider societal issues of that age are correlated with his viewpoints. This is just like a hobo saying "rgbrenner didn't give me $5 last time I asked him, this is why gay people cannot get married".

nollidge 14y ago

I hope you detect the false dichotomy in your response.

Simucal 14y ago

Maybe you should read more than the title of an article before commenting on it. Everything you just said has nothing to do with the point or conclusion of the story. Helping people at the expense of your wife, children and your employer is what the protagonist was discussing. He ultimately gave more in charity after his realization, except that he now controlled that charity, it didn't control him.

theorique 14y ago

This wasn't really the point of the article. The writer was talking about saying no to being used and exploited by people who felt entitled to his time and effort and did not respect or appreciate that effort.

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

newbie12 14y ago

The 1920s was a period of extraordinary economic and technological progress. Economic progress, not passing laws or stewing with envy over income distributions, is what has made society wealthy and advanced enough to end child labor.

rgbrenner 14y ago
Sorry, but no. Child labor was ended in the aftermath of the great depression. The efforts in the decade prior to that failed, including one case where the supreme court said child labor laws are an infringement on the rights of children. The 1938 fair labor standards act was the first at the federal level. http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/08/16/158925367/child-labor-in-america-1920 http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/08/16/158925367/child-la...

forgottenpaswrd 14y ago

Probably you prefer to life in a world where the US of America creates wars so they could take the oil and gas of some countries, and millions of people die because of that. A better world when minimum wage laws exist in your country but people buy Walmart items manufactured in a country where those rules not apply, so you could actually feel better. The maximum disparity between top and bottom was not in the 1920, it is now, with CEOs getting 50x the minimum pay of their workers and growing, and central banks printing money ad infinitum. I agree with you helping people that actually could help theirselves, is overrated.

rgbrenner 14y ago
> The maximum disparity between top and bottom was not in the 1920, it is now That is not correct. At the peak, in 2008 right before the depression, it was slightly below the peak in 1928/9 [0]. 0. http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3629 http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3629